How Can Small Business Owners Make the Most of Facebook Messenger?

You’ve probably used Facebook Messenger before in your private life to converse with friends, family members, and long-lost classmates. It’s quick and convenient, not to mention completely free. It gives you the capability of sending and receiving messages similar to how you would text, but you do it through the social media platform instead of using your cellular services.

Did you ever consider how you could use the application in your small business? With the ever-changing technology industry, it’s becoming one oaf the more common ways to communicate with customers. Find out how you can utilize this Facebook tool for marketing your business.

Why You Should Be Using Facebook Messenger for Your Business

Everything is done on the internet these days, or at least it seems that way. According to statistics, over half of all people like to shop with businesses that they can communicate with directly through their computer or smart device. The appeal is the fast response time with most questions being cleared up on average of just 42 seconds.

People don’t call business offices anymore to talk with real people. At least 56% of all individuals with a problem or question regarding a small business purchase happen over instant messaging services, not over the phone.

With billions of Facebook users, you have the opportunity to reach a customer base that you would have never otherwise had access to. You can virtually offer your services or products to anyone in the world through Facebook Messenger. Just be mindful that if you are sending out advertisements you don’t want to seem too pushy or get overly aggressive. Most consumers don’t appreciate that tactic and you’re going to lose customers before you ever gain them.

Messenger Greetings

People today want things to happen instantly. If they send a message, they are expecting a quick response. That’s especially true if it’s within your operating hours for your business. The Messenger Greetings feature will automatically send out a message to anyone that is contacting you for the first time. That message can be customized to say whatever you want it to. It gives the user the idea that someone is standing by ready to help them, but it offers you an opportunity to fully read and understand what they want.

Instant Replies

Instant replies are very similar to messenger greetings, but they can be set to any time, not just the first message that comes through. If there is a question that comes up frequently, you can use instant replies to answer it without having to physically type something into your Messenger window. It saves time and money when it comes to customer service.

Saved Replies

Almost like instant replies, saved replies are those that you find you are repeating over and over again to your customer base. Instead of wasting time answering each person individually, you can save a reply that can be immediately added in when you have information that needs to be shared. Think about your business hours, location, or contact information and how oftentimes people ask for it. If you have it saved in your replies, you can quickly access it and share it so that your customers aren’t searching around for it.

Customer Cards

When you are communicating with a customer via Facebook Messenger, you don’t have the same opportunity to get a look and feel of who that person is. When there is a body in front of you in a physical store, you can quickly read them and then customize your responses to their questions or concerns. Customer Cards allow somewhat of the same possibility, but through written information on the person you are talking with. It is something that is exclusive to the Facebook Messenger app, but worth taking advantage of. Some of the things that you can figure out through this feature are:

Location

Time zone

Order history

Keep It Personal

One reason why people like to shop with small businesses rather than large companies is that they get the feeling that they are an individual that’s cared about; not just another customer. It is a feeling that can easily be eliminated when you are doing the majority of your business online. With Facebook Messages, you can bring that personalization back to your company that people really enjoy.

Spend some time conversing with your customers if you can. They will appreciate the effort you’ve taken. As a result, they are more likely to recommend you to their friends and family. Additionally, you are almost guaranteed a repeat visit from them meaning more sales and more profits for you.

With over 1.3 billion users taking advantage of the services available through Facebook Messenger, now is the time to implement it into your business. Quickly take care of customer service issues and requests while driving your sales and reaching your maximum potential.

Thanks to Sameer for sharing this article.

Sameer Panjwani for is the Founder & CEO of Mondovo, an online marketing toolset that helps you track your rankings, monitor your site stats, and research your competitors. A man of many talents, Sameer is currently on a mission to help 1 million businesses grow organically through his products and services.